Govt school enrolments from class 1-8 increased in last three years: Minister

Kumar also said that earlier, Economically Weaker sections were not provided Pre-Matric scholarship, but in the revised scheme they are also being considered for Pre-Matric scholarship for classes IX and X.The Minister added that under the Right to Education RTE Act, 2009, the Government is committed to provide free and compulsory elementary education Classes I to VIII to each and every child.

Enrolment in government schools from class 1 to 8 has increased over the last three years, Lok Sabha was informed on Tuesday.

From 2022-23, pre-matric scholarship scheme is available only for students in Class 9 and 10, Social Justice and Empowerment Minister Virendra Kumar said.

In a written reply in the parliament he said that enrolment of class 1 to 8 in Government schools has increased in the last three years by about one crore. ''From the year 2021-22, it has been decided to provide scholarships to students only from class 9 and 10 under Pre-Matric Scholarship scheme for OBCs. Under the scheme of Pre-Matric scholarships to Scheduled Castes (SC) and others, Pre-Matric scholarship is being provided only to class 9 and 10 students since the launch of the scheme in 2012-13,'' the Minister said.

He added that to incentivise children from these communities to attend school, government is providing ''free education, free uniform, free meal etc., under different programmes like Samagrha Shiksha Abhiyan, PM Poshan, etc''. Kumar also said that earlier, Economically Weaker sections were not provided Pre-Matric scholarship, but in the revised scheme they are also being considered for Pre-Matric scholarship for classes IX and X.

The Minister added that under the Right to Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the Government is committed to provide free and compulsory elementary education (Classes I to VIII) to each and every child. PTI AO RCJ